Days Go On
by Satan Abraham
Summary: They all thought the nightmare was over when they returned from the island. But five years later, when they've all got new lives, new friends, and new jobs, they receive some distressing news - the beast is real, and it's killing kids over in the United States of America. Can these seven teenagers defeat the beast once and for all? After the island fic. Hiatus.
1. The Beast Is Back

He didn't know if he was dreaming, or seeing things, or just plain insane, but there was no mistaking the figure before him.

It was Simon No-last-name. The last time Ralph had seen him was when he... well, Ralph would prefer to not go into that at this point in time.

"Ralph-"

"I'm sorry," Ralph said, swallowing. Somewhere along the line he'd become emotional. "I'm so sorry-"

"The beast. It's over in the United States of America. You need to collect them and stop it, Ralph! Contact them and stop it!"

* * *

He swore under his breath and dropped the pan, getting a disgusted look from a veteran waiter. Roger glared right back and stuck his hands right back into the burning hot water.

"Dressler! Get out here!"

Roger winced, dried off his hands on his shirt, and exited the kitchen, expecting the worst.

Standing in front of him was a tall, undeniably attractive blond boy. He looked remarkably like Ralph - like Ralph that didn't exist, like Ralph from The Island.

"Roger-" the boy started. Roger narrowed his eyes and he stopped. "It's back, Roger. The beast is back and it's killing kids. Simon-"

Oh lord, it was Ralph. Roger took a deep breath and pushed past Ralph and headed for the door. "Dressler!"

Roger ignored the yelling, red-faced man and plowed on, pushing through people until he made it outside. Once he was there he made a beeline for the park he frequented. Usually he spent the time tormenting small children, but this time he climbed a tree, sitting in the little seat made by a few branches.

"Roger!"

Fuck, totally-not-Ralph had followed him. Roger looked down to see the blond idiot looking up at him.

"Aren't you going to help me?"

"No."

"But everyone else - we're going to see everyone else about it! Maurice and Bill and the twins and... and Jack! If you don't come then you'll be missing out! Have you even seen any of those guys since the island-"

Before Ralph could continue his rants Roger slid down from the tree and grabbed the collar of Ralph's shirt and pulled the boy down to his level, noting with some irritation that he was still a full head shorter than the boy.

"The Island never happened," Roger said through gritted teeth. "You don't know me, and I'm going to go home now and _you're not going to bother me."_

"But Roger-"

Roger let go of Ralph and turned on his heel, stalking in a random direction. It wasn't the way home, but he'd rather lead Ralph around in circles and then spend the night in his tree. It was summer, after all - he'd just had his birthday.

"But don't you miss your friends?"

Roger answered over his shoulder, shoving his hands deep into his pockets. "I don't have friends. I never have. I'm Roger and that's how I am. You can talk about your silly little dream and the reunion that would probably make us want to kill each other, but whatever you're planning on doing, I'm not going to be a part of it."

"But Roger!"

Roger ignored him and kept walking. He heard Ralph's footsteps fade and was actually quite surprised when something knocked into him from the side.

"Hey, Roger. How's it going?"

* * *

_Earlier that Day..._

The girl slapped him and he grinned, rubbing his yet-again-sore face. He'd have to try harder if he wanted to get Gwendolyn Beckett. But it was nearing lunchtime, so he should probably get home and figure out his next plan of attack.

Did he just say attack? No, that was a bad choice of words. He wasn't planning on attacking Miss Beckett in any way but a romantic one,_ if you know what he means._

Unfortunately, his trip home was interrupted by someone who looked eerily familiar. Being Maurice, he flat-out said that. "Hey, do I know you? You look eerily familiar," Maurice said. The blond boy nodded.

"I'm Ralph-"

Ralph looked like he'd wanted to say more, but he was cut off by Maurice's spontaneous hug. "Hi!" Maurice said after stepping away from his old friend. He did consider Ralph is friend even though Maurice'd helped hunt the boy five years earlier. But, whatever. The past is the past, right?

Wrong.

"The beast is back."

"I thought the beast wasn't real," Maurice pointed out. "That's what you always said, anyway."

"I was wrong. Simon- he- he came to me and told me to collect all of you. You, Samneric, Bill, and Jack and Roger. We're going to the States."

Maurice grinned. "Awesome. Hold on and let me pack."

* * *

"I'm going to keep hugging you until you come with us," Maurice decided, clutching Roger tighter. Roger wriggled but couldn't break free.

"Damn," he muttered under his breath. "Fine. I'll hear you out."

Ralph swallowed and began to pace back and forth. To Roger's annoyance, Maurice still didn't let go of him. "See, Simon visited me-"

"Sorry to break it to you, but Simon's dead - _Maurice_," Roger said as Maurice planted a very sloppy kiss on his cheek. "What is your problem?"

"Don't question him or I'll get even more affectionate!" Maurice said, grinning roguishly. "And you can't even imagine how affectionate I can be. It's like a superpower. I'm Affection Man."

Roger rolled his eyes. "Go on. Not you, Maurice, Ralph."

Ralph nodded. "So, he said that the beast was back. And I think it is. So... will you come with me to get the rest? I've already rented a room for the night, we could all stay there. Roger, do you want to go get some stuff-"

"I'm fine," Roger snapped. He sure as hell didn't want to head back home. It was way too late, and he was pretty sure he was fired from the restaurant. He certainly didn't want to be the one to break that to his parents.

He planned on being well away from here before they found out.

* * *

As with every morning, Bill Boudreau woke to his little sister bouncing up and down on his bed, chanting 'Bill! Bill! Bill!'

"Anything exciting happen last night?" Bill asked. Alanna giggled and shook her head.

"No, it's night! We were all sleeping!"

Bill smirked and nodded. He yawned. "'Kay, buzz off. I've got to get dressed."

"Bye-bye Bill!" Alanna chirped. She bounced out of the room and rolled his eyes. When he'd come back from... that place he'd thought his parents had had her to replace him, and maybe they had. But that didn't stop him from liking her.

But, anyway. Today him, Michael, and Nicholas were going to track down that annoying Jude kid. Samuel was his name... or something like that. And they were going to use their brand-new motorcycles to scare him. Life was good.

Weirdly enough, Nicholas wasn't there when Bill showed up. Bill shrugged, parked his motorcycle, and leaned against a tree. He figured he probably looked extremely awesome, as always.

"Bi-ill!"

That couldn't be Maurice. Maurice lived on the other side of London - he'd kept tabs on everyone who'd been at... that place and, weirdly enough, they all lived in London now, albeit far apart from everyone. Bill hadn't seen anyone but Robert since the incident.

Bill turned to see who was calling for him and, sure enough, it was Maurice. Ralph and Roger followed him. Bill sighed. "Maurice?" he called. Maurice nodded.

"I come bearing friends! Ralph's surprisingly nice considering we tried to kill him! And we had to physically force Roger to come here!"

"How do you physically force Roger to do something?" Bill asked.

"I used the powers of affection!" Maurice said cheerfully. "Ralph. Fill him in."

* * *

"Let's go get some ice cream," Sam suggested. Eric nodded and followed his brother out the door to the ice cream parlor. As always, Mr. Tribble greeted them with a big smile and a half-priced cone. The Lark twins were some of Mr. Tribble's best customers and he never let them forget it.

They sat down, Sam with his chocolate cone and Eric with his vanilla. It was one of those nice, peaceful moments where you felt that nothing could go wrong. Unfortunately, something did go wrong.

Roger - Roger from _that bad place_ - walked in.

Eric noticed him first and couldn't help but let a frightened squeak out. Sam turned his head and saw the sociopath. When he turned back to Eric his face was paper-white.

"What's wrong, boys?" Mr. Tribble asked, leaning on the counter. Eric swallowed.

"Nuh-nothing," he said. Roger walked a few steps nearer to them, and, to both of the twins' horror, _Maurice and Bill_ wandered in, Maurice's arm slung around Bill's shoulders. Bill looked like he wanted to push Maurice into a pot of boiling water.

Lastly Ralph appeared. It was like they'd planned it so that it would be the most dramatic.

"Ralph needs to talk to you," Roger said, looking menacing as ever. Eric swallowed and the two followed Roger to the small table at which Maurice, Bill, and Ralph were sitting at. Roger gestured for them to sit.

"The beast is back," Ralph said. "And, yes, it's real. I-I'm collecting everybody that's important that was there so that we can fight it. We're going to go across to American on a..."

"Boat," Samneric said together.

"Okay, a boat. We just need Jack."

"This should be fun," Roger muttered under his breath.

* * *

Jack threw down the pencil, finally satisfied with the work. Ever since his voice had changed he'd given up on singing, and writing was almost as good. He'd dabbled in everything from poetry to musicals to novels, and at the moment he'd just finished the first draft of a short story.

His mother poked her head into the room. "Jack, you've got some friends that want to see you!"

Jack nodded, resisting the urge to edit his new masterpiece just yet. He should probably get some clothes on, he figured, grabbing a shirt and slipping it over his head.

Before he could get some pants on - Jack found he always wrote better wearing only his underwear - _Maurice_ burst through the door. He stopped, stared and started to laugh.

Jack felt slightly self-conscious.

"What?"

"Nothing. Just expected you to have pants on," Maurice said, snorting. "Come one up guys, he's just not wearing any pants."

"Why isn't he wearing any pants?" someone that sounded eerily like someone he should probably know the name of asked. "I always knew he was weird, but no pants? It's at least three in the afternoon."

Jack flushed and waited for everyone else to get to his room. Ralph, Roger, Samneric... some guy he felt that he really should know...

Hold on, what were they doing in his room?

"What's going on?" Jack asked, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"Ralph, it's all yours," the guy he really felt he should know said.

"First off, who are you?" Jack asked the guy that he really felt he should know.

The guy rolled his eyes. "I'm Bill."

"Who?"

"I was on the island too, idiot."

"Oh, sorry Bill. Go on."

Ralph explained everything quickly, and by the end Jack was nodding slowly, biting his thumbnail. "You actually expect me to believe that bullshit."

"Watch out-" Roger tried to warn him, but before the smallest boy could finish, Maurice tackled Jack into his bed.

"It is I, Affection Man, here to save the day!"

"Get off of me."

"Not until you say you'll come with us. And I'm not afraid to kiss you."

"He means it," Roger interjected.

Jack sighed. "Fine. Whatever you want."

* * *

**Um... this is just going to be updated whenever. Cx I just felt like another 'after the island' fic, I guess. I have no idea where I'm going with this, but I think it'll be fun.**

**And I also don't know how long it'll be. So, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. :D See you next time!**

**Review for Affection Man? :D  
**


	2. The Trip

Maurice glanced at Roger. For some reason, he hadn't packed _anything_. Of course, they hadn't really given him any chance to pack; instead they'd just dragged him to their hotel room in which Maurice had creeped him out even more. Being Affection Man was fun.

Roger'd be fine. Meanwhile, they were getting ready to board the boat to America! Maurice couldn't help but be a little excited; after all, the only time he'd been outside the country was when, you know, he'd been on the island. And that was less of a vacation and more of a 'KILL THE BEAST. CUT HIS THROAT. BASH HIM IN.'

Of course, that's what this trip was going to be, too...

"You coming, Affection Man?" Bill asked. He was the last one besides Maurice to board the boat. Maurice slid the customary grin on his face and grabbed his bag, bounding onto the boat. "Took you long enough."

"Thought we'd be able to leave him," Roger muttered under his breath. Maurice decided to ignore Roger.

"So, Ralph, any plan on what we're doing?" Maurice asked. Ralph shook his head.

"Well... no. Not really," Ralph asked.

"Where are we going?" Sam - or maybe it was Eric - asked. "I mean, in America."

Ralph turned red. "I... I don't exactly know."

Jack sighed and turned to go somewhere else. "I'm going to go do something productive, unlike you lot," he said. "I'll see you at dinner."

* * *

Roger found Jack stowed away in some corner, scribbling fiercely on a piece of paper. Roger stood there for a moment, just watching him, until finally Jack looked up, nodded, and went back to scribbling.

Roger, feeling incredibly awkward, turned to leave. "Hey," Jack said. Roger turned around. Jack had put the paper down and was looking at him. "What's going on?"

"We're on a boat," Roger said. Jack rolled his eyes.

"I mean, what's going on with _you_. I've noticed that you didn't pack any bags for this trip. Why's that?"

"Because I wouldn't have anything I needed to pack. And I don't like to go home unless I absolutely have to," Roger said, crossing his arms and studying Jack. The boy had grown into the looks that had seemed less-than-attractive when he was younger; he still wore the scowl he almost always had, but his face seemed normal now. His hair was shorter than he had ever worn it; you could barely tell if it was ginger or blond.

Jack nodded and went back to his scribbling. Roger rolled his eyes and went to go find Bill or something.

* * *

The next few days on the boat went by fairly quickly. Maurice spent his days annoying Roger, talking to Bill, looking over Jack's shoulder while he was writing; you know, stuff like that. He especially liked it when Jack was writing... questionable things and he realized that Maurice was reading over his shoulder. His face turned almost as red as his hair when that happened.

Jack had taken to writing with his back to the wall after that incident.

Another thing Maurice liked to do was sneak into Roger's bed and creep him out. Maurice was used to his gigantic, blanket-filled bed, so it was really cold unless he slept with someone. So he decided to make a game out of it by seeing how long he could stay sleeping in Roger's bed until Roger realized that he was there.

One morning after a successful sneak into Roger's bed, the boat hit something and the two went crashing to the floor, Roger landing on top of him. "_What were you doing in my bed again?_" Roger hissed, but he seemed nervous, clutching Maurice's arm with less of a 'I'm going to kill you now' and more of a 'I'm completely freaked out right now' vibe.

Maurice grinned at him and sat up. "I dunno. I'm gonna go find my shirt... it should be around here somewhere..."

Leaving a gaping Roger behind him, Maurice searched through his bag, eventually pulling out a shirt. "Here! Nah, never mind, shirts are for the weak!"

"Please put on a shirt."

"Shut up Roger. I don't have to put on a shirt if I don't want to!"

Roger rolled his eyes. "Whatever, let's go see where everyone else is," he said. Maurice nodded and grabbed his bag.

"Let's do this," he said, grinning.

* * *

Bill had been up already - or, rather, he hadn't gone to sleep - when the boat crashed into an island. It didn't look like it was going to sink, at least for a while, but it wasn't going to be going anywhere any time soon.

Might as well check out the island then, right?

Bill dropped himself off of the boat and onto the island, making sure not to land on any extremely sharp rocks, managing to only cut himself up a little bit. He rubbed his elbow and went on.

It looked exactly like their island had looked... you know, except the fact that it was less tropical and more cold and rocky. There was a small forest, but, while thick, it didn't look to be fruit-laden and lovely like the one on the other island had been. It looked interesting enough, though, so he decided to go exploring. He had his bag - hell, he'd barely let his bag out of his sight; he knew Maurice liked to dig through things - he knew that nobody else was up, so he set out.

In a way, he liked this island better. It wasn't too hot, and their didn't seem to be that much sun. Bill was fair-skinned and fair-haired, and, in short, he sunburned very easily. He'd much prefer this rocky, cold island to the tropical paradise.

He decided to check out the forest first, and, upon entering, he was nearly trampled by a pack of wild boars. Not the little pigs that had inhabited the other island - honest to God, incredibly huge boars that looked like they could kill you.

He'd have to tell Jack about this.

* * *

Roger and Maurice met up with Jack, Samneric, and Ralph on the ship's deck. The crew of the ship was busy getting everybody off onto the island 'for safety reasons.'

"Where's Bill?" Sam - or maybe Eric - asked. "He did come with us, right?"

Maurice nodded. "Maybe he's already on the island," he suggested, slinging an arm around Roger's shoulder and leaning on the shorter boy. "We should go explore once we get on-shore. Hey, that rhymes!"

Roger shoved him away and told him to put on a shirt. Though it was getting quite cold, Maurice ignored that request. Ralph rolled his eyes.

"Be serious, guys. For all we know, this could be the Beast's doing!" There was a slightly crazed look in Ralph's eyes. It also looked like he'd been up all night; he had darker shadows under his eyes than Roger did, and that was saying something.

The crew had made a makeshift ramp that they used to get onto the island. Once they got onto the rocky beach, Maurice dug through his bag and got out a shirt.

"Keep in mind, Rog, I'm not putting this on because you told me to, I'm putting it on because it's _freezing_," Maurice said.

"_Rog?_" Roger asked.

"Aw, you don't like your nickname?" Maurice asked, looking offended. "Too bad. Let's go find Bill."

* * *

Ralph, unlike the hunters and Samneric, had no desire to go find this mysterious 'Bill' person.

That was a joke. He did know who Bill was.

How sad was this, that he was telling himself jokes in his head? God, he was going insane. But maybe he could do some exploring of his own and make sure that there _wasn't_ a beast. Because he was pretty sure that it was the Beast's fault that they had crashed into this island; either that or the captain of the ship was incredibly incompetent. One of the two.

Hey, Jack hadn't gone with the others. Though Ralph was still a little wary around Jack, he was a bit curious about what Jack was scribbling on his papers all the time. He decided to be quiet, though; he didn't know if Jack was about to snap and kill him or something. The others had seemed almost exactly like they'd been on the island, but Jack... Jack was different.

When Ralph was a few steps within Jack's personal area, the taller boy looked up. "What?"

"So..." Ralph said. He could practically _taste_ the awkwardness. "Sing any good songs lately?"

"I don't sing," Jack snapped, turning back to his paper.

"What?" Ralph asked. "But... but you're _Jack Merridew_."

"Yeah? I don't sing anymore," Jack said. "My voice changed, and now I can't sing C sharp. What's the point of doing something if you can't be the best at it?"

* * *

**You should probably know that I have no idea where this is going. But I hope it's enjoyable. Cx**


	3. Hunting Again

Roger crept through the foliage, almost glad that he didn't have a jacket. Though the cold wind raised goosebumps on his arms, it kept him alert, and he sure as hell didn't want to be caught unawares if a pig charged him.

There was one they could handle - it wasn't as big as the one that had knocked Bill into a tree the other day, causing him to miss today's hunt, but it was small, either. Roger signaled to Maurice, who sent him a grin and focused on the pig.

They'd finally convinced Jack and Ralph to join them on pig hunts. After all, there _were_ other people working on getting them off of the island. There were grownups on this island, and besides - they weren't little kids anymore. The youngest of them was Maurice at fourteen. Yeah, they'd be _fine_.

Maurice chased the pig into Roger, and Samneric. Roger leaped at it, bringing down the spear on its back. The pig was fast and muscled, however, turning on Roger and knocking him to the ground. His spear flew out of his hands and rolled away. The twins jabbed at the pig while Roger twisted and looked for a way out, just barely rolling out of the way of tusks. Weirdly enough, Maurice didn't come to his rescue. This time it was Jack. With a savage scream that made Roger think of The Island more than necessary, the redhead leaped at the pig, stabbing his knife - it was _always_ Jack with the knife, wasn't it?

Come to think of it, where had Roger's own knife gone? He hadn't had it since... since Maurice tackled him in that dark alley.

Oh yeah. It had fallen out then.

Roger shook himself free of his thoughts and slipped away from the pig, grabbing his spear and charging the pig once more, helping Jack with the killing blow.

The two stood over the dead pig, just looking at each other. Roger was breathing hard. Every single one of his senses seemed to be... enhanced somehow. He could hear the blood dripping from his spear onto his foot, he could see Jack's breath - of course, that could just be the cold.

"Oh just kiss already!" Maurice called. Both Jack and Roger turned to glare at him. He smirked. "As well as Affection Man, I'm Cupid."

One of the adults from the ship stumbled through the trees to gape at their dead pig. "Wha- did you boys kill this all on your own?"

"Yep!" Maurice said cheerfully. "Actually it was Jack. And Roger. The pig almost killed Roger like it nearly killed Bill yesterday. And-"

"Shut up Maurice," Jack said, wiping his knife off on his shirt. He swallowed and looked at the pig. "So. What are we going to do with this?"

"Well, I came to find you because there's a ship here to take us the rest of the way to America," the man said, scratching his head. "I guess we'll be having pig tonight for supper, right?"

Maurice grinned. "Of course! You know, I haven't had pig for years. Not since-" he broke off, grin fading. "Not since..."

"Not since what? And how did you manage to kill this thing, anyway-" the man stared at them, wide-eyed. "You're not the boys that got trapped on that island, are you?"

The six looked at each other, unsure of what to say. "Well," Ralph said. "Yes."

Maurice put his grin back on his face, but it seemed strained, somehow. "That doesn't matter, now, does it? We can just take the pig back, right? Yeah. Roger, help me!"

"I don't understand why I always have to do all manual labor," Roger complained. "After all, I'm the smallest here."

"It's because you're totally minion-like," Maurice said, nodding. "Yep. Roger the minion."

"Maurice the minion."

"I know! I've accepted being a minion as part of my life. Now help me, minion!"

"Minions can't boss other minions around!"

"Shut up and help me carry this thing."

Thankfully, the twins helped them out as well, and between the four of them, they got the pig back to the new ship.

* * *

Bill sat up too fast and winced. Damn. That pig had really hit him hard, hadn't it? Almost felt like a car. Not that Bill knew what getting hit by a car felt like.

He was just injury-prone all right? If someone was going to get hurt, it was going to be him, guaranteed.

Bill was shocked out of self-pity by the gigantic boar that Roger, Maurice, and the twins dragged out of the forest. "Holy shit," he hissed, standing up and running over to them, ignoring his aching ribs. "How the hell did you manage that one?"

"Jack and Roger pulled out their inner savage - too soon? Sorry," Maurice said, noting Jack's glare. "Uh, they killed it with spears and Jack's knife?"

* * *

Maurice grinned at Roger through a mouthful of pork, who made a face like he was going to be sick and turned away. Maurice shrugged and swallowed. Some people just had weak stomachs.

Like Ralph, for example. He hadn't touched his pig. Maurice was about to point that out when Bill spoke up.

"Hey, uh, I thought of a joke when I was lying in pain on the rocky beach," he said, turning almost as red as Jack's hair. Maurice looked at him.

"Are you challenging my position as the funny guy?" he asked.

"Aren't you Affection Man?"

"I'm that too. And also Cupid," Maurice said. "But, anyway. Let's hear it."

"Well, uh, there's this guy. And he walks into a bar. And he says 'ouch,'" Bill said.

You could practically hear the crickets chirp.

"You know, he walks into an actual bar... like, a horizontal bar of... metal..." Bill trailed off. Maurice just looked at him.

"That's not even going to get a 'you tried' laugh," he said. Bill was suddenly very interested in his meal.

* * *

Roger had pretty much given up on kicking Maurice out of his bed. And, honestly, it was really cold at the moment, so he didn't mind a little extra warmth, even though it was _really, really weird_. So, he let Maurice sneak into his bed, and he let Maurice 'cuddle.'

Because it was _freezing_, dammit!

"You should grab your blanket, too," Roger murmured, half-asleep. Maurice shifted.

"What? You're accepting me in your bed?" Maurice said, sitting up. Roger's head slipped off of Maurice's arm. "Cool. That Affection Man thing seriously is a superpower, isn't it? I'll be right back."

Roger didn't remember anything after that. He must have fallen asleep when Maurice was getting his blanket.

But when he woke up the next morning his head was on Maurice's chest. And that was _not_ okay.

What was also not okay was the fact that Bill saw that. And burst out laughing. "Affection Man has tamed the beast - oh shit, uh, demon's better. Yeah."

Maurice woke up then, yawning and stretching. Roger's head was (thankfully) off of the other boy's chest by then. "What? What happened? I'm confused."

"Are you guys queer for each other?" Bill asked.

Roger blinked. Maurice looked shocked.

"I'm pretty sure I like girls," he said. "Fairly certain. Not sure about demon-boy over here, but I'm into girls."

* * *

It had taken much too long to get to America. Ralph clutched his bag tighter and glanced around at the others. Roger was still blushing from the Maurice incident earlier. It probably didn't help that he was wearing some of Maurice's clothes, either, considering that Roger had only one change of clothes.

And Maurice's pants were far too big for him, so he pretty much had to hold them up.

"So, where do we go now, fearless leader?" Bill asked. Jack looked at him, and Ralph fidgeted under all of these stares. He didn't used to be like this. He used to be a /good/ leader, and now he was cracking under something simple like this. It was insanely stupid.

"We'll see what's in this city, first," Jack decided, taking the reins from Ralph. "Maurice, Bill, Roger, come with me? Ralph and Samneric can go a different way, and we can find each other... around five? Yeah, come back here at five."

And with that, Jack Merridew took the three former savages and headed off.

* * *

**These keep getting shorter. xP I don't know whether to be amused or sad that this is happening. Probably sad.**

**Now, I kind of have a plot scribbled out... for a few more chapters at least, and I think there will be a crossover with one of my favorite books for a few chapters, and, well, it'll be all fun. :)**

**Bill's lame joke isn't mine, by the way. I stole it from the internet. Hooray!  
**

**On a weirder note, I think I'm falling away from Jack x Roger and more into Rogice (Roger x Maurice.)**

**And to J. Merridew - I just grabbed the first thing that popped into mind for the title. But I did check out that song. And it's pretty good.**

**And, well... see you in a few days, perhaps?**


	4. It Was Always Him

Bill yawned, lagging behind the others a bit. He really should learn to actually go to sleep some time... but that wouldn't be any fun, now, would it? Nah, he could just keep being Bill. And not sleep. At all-

But he really should learn to pay attention to where he was walking.

* * *

Maurice turned just in time to see Bill get hit by a car. "Oh shit," he muttered, running out into the street to retrieve him. He dragged the half-conscious Bill back to the sidewalk, where Jack and Roger stared down at him.

"What do we do now?" Roger asked. "Is he dead?"

"I don't think so..." Jack said, looking closer at Bill. Bill twitched. "Nope."

"I wonder if he meant to do it," Maurice said. "You know, he was just so sick of being Bill: The Guy Nobody Cares About that he decided to step in front of a car."

"That's not the way..." Roger muttered. "You have to make it dramatic. And inconvenient for someone to clean up."

"Like trapping yourself in a freezer or something?"

"That'd work."

"Or an oven!"

"Ooh, nice idea."

Their less-than-normal conversation about suicide probably would have gone on longer, had someone not noticed the twitching, injured body at their feet.

"Is he all right?"

Maurice answered this question. "No. No, I don't think so. He got hit by a car."

"Then why isn't he in the hospital?"

"We haven't gotten around to taking him."

* * *

Sam and Eric followed Ralph, who seemed to know where he was going for the most part. They didn't question it.

To be honest, Sam was still a bit miffed about not being able to finish up his ice cream cone. But he wouldn't mention it. They could always find more ice cream, right?

Right.

Eventually they made their way back to the docks where a lone Jack was standing.

"Where are the others?" Ralph asked. He still seemed a bit uncomfortable around Jack - and Roger and Bill, too. Not Maurice, though. It was almost impossible to be uncomfortable around Maurice.

"Bill got hit by a car," Jack said. "He's in the hospital."

Sam blinked. That was sudden. Of course, it was Bill. He was the only one to be injured by a pig on the new island, after all. "Are Maurice and-"

"Roger at the hospital with him?" Eric finished Sam's sentence. Sam swallowed. They hadn't done that unconsciously since the Island. Jack nodded.

"Can we go see him?" Ralph asked. Jack shrugged.

"Guess so," he said, shouldering his bag and leading them to the hospital.

* * *

Roger stood just outside the hospital, waiting for them.

"Maurice inside?" Ralph asked.

"Yep."

They made an odd group; teenage boys varying in size, age, and appearance - Jack with his close-cropped red hair, Roger with his just-longer-than-socially acceptable hair and far too big clothes, the twins, and, of course, the handsome and heroic Ralph.

Maurice was talking to an unconscious Bill. Everyone who passed by him told him to shut up, but Maurice rarely took any notice of things like that. Roger rolled his eyes at his friend's stupidity.

"Hey! They're back!" Maurice said, bouncing to his feet. "Doctors say he'll be in the hospital for a while. Jack paid 'm. Jack's got loads of money."

Jack flushed. "Not really..."

"His entire bag is filled with money! And it's like he knew we were coming here, because it's all this kind of money! It's like he can see the future!"

"Shut up Maurice," Roger said, sighing. Maurice grinned at him.

"See you later," he said to Bill, and the three headed out.

* * *

"So, where are we planning on staying?" Maurice asked Jack, who had become a leader in Ralph's emotional absence. "Ooh, do we get to sleep outside?"

"First of all, Maurice, _that would not be fun._ Second of all... I don't know. I honestly have no idea," Jack said, sighing. "Ralph, do you know what we're doing?"

"Let's split up," Ralph suggested. "I'll stay here, with Bill. Samneric can go west. Roger, Maurice, and you..."

"How about Maine? I heard Maine was nice!" Maurice suggested. "Maine's awesome!"

"What's Maine?" Roger asked.

"It's north. Really far north," Maurice said. Roger nodded, biting his lip.

"Can't be too bad, I guess," Roger said, shrugging.

* * *

Patrick Hockstetter paused, and the cat bit his finger in a vain attempt to get free. He'd just had the weird feeling that someone... someone that could be "real" was going to come soon.

But that was silly. He put the cat in the refrigerator and shut the door, listening to it scratch and meow for a few minutes before going home.

* * *

Maurice had been quite upset that they weren't going to stop for the night. Jack 'didn't want to waste money', and now they were on a train. Roger was staring out the window, Jack was sulking, and Maurice was trying (and failing) to get them to talk to him.

"Let's play a game!"

"No."

"Let's talk about that fat person!" (Said fat person gave them a glare.)

"No.'

"Let's talk about suicide again!"

"No."

"I wonder if Bill's alive still..."

"No."

Maurice looked at Roger, who had been the one answering 'no' all this time. "Ha! I got you to converse with me!"

"No."

Eventually, though, Roger got tired. And when Roger got tired, he slept on the person nearest to him. And Maurice was sitting right beside him. So, hah, Roger was going to be embarrassed when he woke up.

Once Roger was asleep, Jack spoke.

"Maurice?"

"Hey, you can talk! Sorry, go on," Maurice said, grinning and adjusting his position. Jack swallowed.

"I..." Jack paused. Maurice rolled his eyes. Roger muttered something in his sleep and buried his face in Maurice's shoulder. "I like him."

"Who? Ralph? Bill? Sam? Eric? Roger?" Maurice asked. From the reaction that he gained by the last name, he figured he was right. "It's Roger, isn't it? You like our murderous little guy!"

Jack turned red. "Yes," he muttered. "I do. But... I don't think he likes me back, so I don't know what to _do_."

"When you like someone and they don't like you back, just keep bothering them until they do!" Maurice said grinning. "That's actually what I was doing back home. To Gwendolyn Beckett. She's my favorite."

"I just feel really weird, because Roger's a guy, and I'm a guy, and it's just... not _right_," Jack said, finishing lamely. Maurice rolled his eyes.

"Just... I dunno, get him flowers or something. And if he looks at you funny, say you were making fun of me. that works, right? Maybe I should get him flowers first, then, so that it works better. Maybe you should kiss him and call yourself Affection Man. Then you'd definitely be making fun of me. Or-"

"Okay, okay, I get it," Jack said, sighing and looking at Roger.

"Where are we going, anyway?"

"Well, I heard that there were a bunch of murders going on in a town called Derry. So... we'll check that out."

Maurice grinned. "Sounds fun."

* * *

He hadn't had a dream this vivid since the island. Everything was bright, hot, over-saturated colors. It was a jungle-type thing, he figured - lots of trees and creepers all over the place. He stumbled through them.

There was smoke everywhere. He could taste it, and he started coughing, he was coughing his lungs up and-

"Holy shit Roger, you okay?"

And blinked open his eyes. Maurice was staring at him. He looked worried. Roger nodded and swallowed.

"Bad dream. I think," he said. His throat hurt. Maurice nodded, looking at him.

"If you say so. But we've got to switch trains so we can get to the town we're ending up in. Jack picked it because kids are dying. Isn't that awesome?"

* * *

**Yes. It's an IT crossover. Yeah. It's going to be that awesome.**

**Because it's going to be kinda Patrick x Roger.**

**And if you've never read IT, then just take it as this random town with their own beast. :D**


	5. Derry, Maine

Bill didn't want to open his eyes.

It _hurt. _Every bit of him hurt and he just wanted to lie there forever, on the stiff, uncomfortable what he supposed was probably a bed and plastic-y sheets and blankets.

He twitched and sent another group of pain flickering through him. "Bill?"

Who was that?

Bill fought his inner temptations to just keep his eyes closed and peeled them open. The room swam into view. Ralph was leaning over him, and he flushed. "M'okay," Bill said. His voice was hoarse. What had happened? He seriously had no idea. He couldn't remember anything after following Maurice, Jack, and Roger around. What a weird love triangle they had there.

"The doctors say you'll have to stay here for a while," Ralph said. "because we don't live here and you can't really go home, because we all kind of ran away."

"What happened?" Bill asked. Shit. His throat hurt.

"I'm not really sure, but… I think you got hit by a car," Ralph said. Bill blinked.

"What? Really?"

"That's what they said," Ralph said, shrugging.

Bill sighed and let his eyes close. "Great," he muttered. "This day… week… whatever it is just keeps getting better and better."

* * *

Derry, Maine was a creepy little town. Roger could feel that there was something wrong with it almost immediately – there was a prickling at the bottom of his spine that made him want to leave. Or maybe start killing people. It was that sort of feeling… now that he thought about it, it had the same sort of feeling that the island had had. Maurice didn't seem bothered, of course, he was bouncing down the streets, grinning at the locals who looked like they wished that he would just go away.

Jack looked wary, at least, but Roger had a feeling that that had more to do with the fact that he was in a new, unfamiliar place with a freak and a… what had the doctors called him… oh, yes, Roger was a 'psychopath.' 'Certifiably insane.' But he'd 'gotten better.'

Roger wasn't quite sure about this last part, but he went with it. After all, he hadn't complained when they'd released him from the asylum. He'd just… acted sane, and they'd let him out after about a year and a half. Then he'd just gone on with himself, killing bugs to keep himself at bay.

Maybe that was what the prickling feeling was from – he hadn't killed anything lately, and he was getting nervous. Restless.

Hopefully there would be interesting things here.

"I'm going to go ask around and see if there's a place we can stay," Maurice chirped, winking at Jack before skipping away. Roger looked between Jack's quickly reddening face and the back of Maurice's bouncing head. What… what had that been about?

"Are you hungry?" Jack asked after a few minutes of awkward silence. Roger shook his head, and Jack bit his lip and muttered something under his breath. Roger had the idea that he probably should have said 'yes he was hungry of course he was hungry he'd eat anything jack gave him'-

Okay, now he was just getting out of hand.

Maurice came back a few moments later, looking a bit disgruntled. "So, there is a place where we would normally be able to stay, but I checked it out and it's all filled up," he said, chewing on his lower lip like he had a personal vendetta against it. "So we're gonna have to find some people to stay overnight with. Let's go make some friends! Let's split up. Or, I'll go this way and you guys can go the other way."

He winked at Jack again and went skipping in a random direction. Roger was once again really, really confused. What was up with all of this winking at Jack? Was there a purpose? Should he be winking at Jack, too?

No.

No, he wasn't going to wink at Jack.

Jack started walking, and Roger saw no choice but to follow. He had to run a bit to catch up and keep up – Jack's legs were quite a bit longer than Roger's and he had to take two steps for Jack's every one, _damn, _he wished he weren't so short.

Eventually, Roger let his thoughts wander. He glanced around the town – it seemed a little… subdued. Nobody was really looking at him, or Jack, and while Roger didn't really like people looking at him, it was weird that everyone was actually averting their eyes. Roger hadn't killed anyone here. Yet.

Not like he was planning on killing anyone. Just a few bugs. Possibly a mouse. Or a cat.

Killing people often had serious repercussions, such as being admitted to a mental asylum for a year and six months, approximately.

Shit, shit, shit, he'd lost Jack.

Roger ducked through the crowd, pushing through people to try and find him.

He ended up running straight into a blond kid with a slight potbelly and a box. The box flew out of his hands and a kitten ended up scampering away.

Roger ended up on the ground facing the boy. They looked at each other with equal astonishment and one other thing – recognition.

Roger was fairly certain he'd never seen this boy before in his life… but there was something in his expression that seemed _so extremely familiar. _They sat there on the sidewalk, frozen, just staring, dark brown eyes on pale, washed-out blue.

It felt like Roger was connecting to a higher power and, as a result, connecting to the mind of this other boy. A name flashed through his mind – _Patrick Hockstetter. _He was twelve… or was he thirteen? This part wasn't clear. Roger didn't know. Now other facts were pounding against his skull, the refrigerator leeches _real _caught breaking the rules the rules the refrigerator-

"Roger!"

Roger felt the ground again and was relieved. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to take much more of that… psychic thing. He scrambled to his feet and saw that the other boy had, too. Jack was pushing his way toward them, looking extremely irritated as he shoved a kid aside.

"Maurice found someone who would let us stay – I forgot the name, Tozier? Something like that," Jack was out of breath, face red and gasping in between words.

"No," the boy that Roger had run into said. His voice was slow, husky, and careful. "Come with me."

With that, he turned and walked away. Roger followed.

* * *

Sam and Eric were lost.

* * *

**Well, there we go! :D This will be updated… every once in a while… I don't really have a new system I just put all of my ongoing fics into a random list generator and then write the next chapter for whichever one comes out on top.**

**Except Rogice Saturday happens every Saturday because Rogice Saturday is a sacred thing.**


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